Airing Fashion's Dirty Laundry

The veils are falling in the fashion world this week with another snap happy sexpest being called out on his sexual harassment, sexual power abuse and scandalous sex allegations.

Risque celebrity and cult fashion photographer Terry Richardson, 52, who is most well known for his near to nude fashion feature work, as well as his assistance in the making of the music video version of ‘Wrecking Ball’ by Miley Cyrus, has been banned by a top magazine publication agency. This has been exposed in a leaked email from media group Conde Nast International, which was further exposed by The Daily Telegraph, stating that the company would no longer be working with him.

In effect, Terry Richardson’s work has now been banned from GQ, Vogue, Teen Vogue, Allure, Glamour, Wired, Vanity Fair and a whole host of other publications that all fall under Conde Nast’s umbrella of magazine publications.

Over the weekend, the question on the lips of every journalist was could Richardson’s Work still be “feted by fashionistas” whilst the fashion industry reels and lives in the shadow cast by Harvey Weinstein.

James Woolhouse’s email to Conde Nast International’s bosses read: “I am writing to you on an important matter. Condé Nast would like to no longer work with the photographer Terry Richardson. Any shoots that have been commission[ed] or any shoots that have been completed but not yet published, should be killed and substituted with other material. Please could you confirm that this policy will be actioned in your market effective immediately. Thank you for your support in this matter.”

Terry Richardson has been accused during his career of sexually abusing models, an accusation which he has constantly denied. The questions of sexual misconduct have come up again with in regard to Mr. Richardson due to the Harvey Weinstein scandal, but there are no models coming out to claim that they have indeed been harassed or sexually assaulted in any way by Richardson, as of Tuesday.

Last Friday, Terry Richardson addressed allegations that were mounting last week in a blog post published by The Huffington Post, in which he wrote: ”I collaborated with consenting adult women who were fully aware of the nature of the work, and as is typical with any project, everyone signed releases. I have never used an offer of work or a threat of rebuke to coerce someone into something that they did not want to do. I give everyone that I work with enough respect to view them as having ownership of their free will and making their decisions accordingly, and as such, it has been difficult to see myself as a target of revisionist history.”

ID magazine editor, Caryn Franklyn, has said that Terry Richardson’s behaviour had become an “open secret” in the modelling industry. Does it come as any surprise to anyone at this stage, that this can go on in such places where there’s fashion photography, models, and big time exposure? Even though it’s not right, everything is unclear on the matter of Terry Richardson, and at this current stage, these are mere unexplored allegations.

Terry Richardson is the latest person to be accused in a full on witch hunt that’s sweeping across all forms of entertainment industries, from film, all the way to fashion. In recent days, Steven Seagal and Bill O’Reilly among others have also been accused, making one wonder if things like this could also spark false accusations of sexual harassment and other allegations without merit. Who knows? Regardless of the situation, Conde Nast International will not be publishing Terry Richardson’s work anymore.